An electrician usually carries his tools to a job site in either a tool box or in a tool belt, both of which can be heavy and cumbersome. Often, the area where the electrician must work is not readily accessible, and the electrician must work off of a ladder or in a crawl space thereby requiring the tool box or belt to be left in an unhandy location. Since several tools are typically needed to complete a given job, the electrician may have to make several trips up and down the ladder, or into and out of the crawl space to retrieve the tools required. This increases the time needed to complete the job, and adds to the fatigue and risk of injury to the electrician.
One means by which the number of tools needed for a given job can be reduced, and thereby the number of trips required to and from the tool box minimized, is to employ tools that are capable of aiding in the performance of several different tasks. However, known multi-purpose tools do not incorporate many features needed by the electrician. For example, the cable used to wire houses or buildings typically consists of three or four wires covered by a heavy polymeric, typically vinyl, sheath. Due to the relatively large thickness of both the cable and its sheath, larger cutters and cable slitters are required to cut and strip the cable. Known multi-purpose tools do not incorporate such cutters and slitters.
In addition, electricians and maintenance personnel are often called upon to perform tasks which require skills in other disciplines, such as carpentry or metal working. These other disciplines each require that the craftsman carry additional tools thereby exacerbating the previously described difficulties.
Based on the foregoing, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose hand tool incorporating the tools most commonly used by an electrician.
It is an additional object of the present invention to supply such a tool capable of effectively working with cable of large diameter or thickness.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose tool capable of being used to perform tasks in multiple disciplines.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.